'This is not me': Singer Steve Yoo denies posting derogatory comment about delivery drivers

Singer Steve Yoo, who has been receiving fierce criticism for posting a comment that degrades delivery riders, said Wednesday that he did not write the comment.

Korean-American singer Steve Yoo [YONHAP]

Singer Steve Yoo, who has been receiving fierce criticism for posting a comment that degrades delivery riders, said Wednesday that he did not write the comment, adding that he'll take legal action against the imposter who left the comment using the account name Yoo Seung Jun Official.

"This is not me," Yoo wrote on Instagram, with a screen capture of a news article that reported on the matter. Yoo said that it looks like someone used the nickname on purpose to write the "strange" comment.

The controversial comment was posted in a live chatroom on YouTube back in 2022 that was streaming news coverage on delivery riders going on a strike ahead of the Qatar World Cup in 2022. A screen capture of the comment was posted recently on an online community page and began receiving fierce criticism.

The comment reads: “If you didn’t do good in school and have nothing, you got no choice but to be a ddalbae [a derogatory Korean term for delivery riders].” The comment was made from a YouTube account called Yoo Seung Jun Official, which hasn't posted any videos in the past three years.

Yoo said that he'll take legal action against those who reported the "fake news without checking facts and the imposter who left the comment," adding that he "does not understand why he has to respond" to this "absurd situation" and why he has to go through it all.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]